https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/tags/Tagged posts on All Is Well in the Great MessHugoen-USThu, 10 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/20260910181824/Thu, 10 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/20260910181824/<div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden;">
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<p>‘<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2331100/">Walk With Me</a>
’ is a meditative film about a community of Zen Buddhist monks and nuns who have dedicated their lives to mastering the art of mindfulness with their world-famous teacher <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%ADch_Nh%E1%BA%A5t_H%E1%BA%A1nh">Thích Nhât Hanh</a>
.</p>
<p>This clip from the documentary shows a young girl whose dog has died and who is telling him about it.</p>
<p><em>“I had a doggy and my doggy died and I was very sad,”</em> she said. <em>“So I don’t know how to be not so sad.”</em></p>
<p>Thích Nhât Hanh looked at her with great compassion and he said, <em>“This is a very difficult question. Suppose you look up into the sky and you see a beautiful cloud, and you like the cloud so much, and suddenly the cloud is no longer there.”</em> He added, <em>“And you think that the cloud has passed away. Where is my beloved cloud now?”</em></p>
<p>But he then offered, <em>“So if you have time to reflect, to look, you’ll see that the cloud has not died, has not passed away. The cloud has become the rain. And when you look at the rain you see your cloud.”</em></p>
<p>And he continued, <em>“And when you drink your tea mindfully, you can see the rain in your tea, and your cloud in your tea, and you can say ‘Hello, my cloud! I know you have not died. You are still alive in a new form.”</em></p>
<p><em>“So doggy is the same,”</em> he said as he looked to her. <em>“And if you look really deeply, you can see doggy in its new form.”</em></p>
<p>He words were met with an understanding smile from the girl. You could tell she really got what he had said.</p>
https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/dont-quit/Sun, 12 Mar 2023 17:25:58 +0000https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/dont-quit/<blockquote>
<p>When things go wrong as they sometimes will,<br>
When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill,<br>
When the funds are low and the debts are high<br>
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,<br>
When care is pressing you down a bit,<br>
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit</p>
<p>Life is strange with its twists and turns<br>
As every one of us sometimes learns<br>
And many a failure comes about<br>
When he might have won had he stuck it out;<br>
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow<br>
You may succeed with another blow.</p>
<p>Success is failure turned inside out<br>
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,<br>
And you never can tell just how close you are,<br>
It may be near when it seems so far;<br>
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit<br>
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.</p>
<p>For all the sad words of tongue or pen,<br>
The saddest are these: “It might have been!”</p>
<cite>
<b>John Greenleaf Whittier (1807- 1892)</b>
</cite>
</blockquote>
https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/leaves/Wed, 22 Jun 2022 16:22:35 +0000https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/leaves/<blockquote>
<p>The prisoners of infinite choice<br>
Have built their house<br>
In a field below the wood<br>
And are at peace.</p>
<p>It is autumn, and dead leaves<br>
On their way to the river<br>
Scratch like birds at the windows<br>
Or tick on the road.</p>
<p>Somewhere there is an afterlife<br>
Of dead leaves,<br>
A stadium filled with an infinite<br>
Rustling and sighing.</p>
<p>Somewhere in the heaven<br>
Of lost futures<br>
The lives we might have led<br>
Have found their own fulfilment.<br>
<cite><br>
<b>Derek Mahon</b>, The Snow Party (Oxford University Press 1975).<br>
</cite></p>
</blockquote>
https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/please-call-me-by-my-true-names/Sat, 22 Jan 2022 14:02:43 +0000https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/please-call-me-by-my-true-names/<iframe width="100%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/1201574362&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true"></iframe><div style="font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/alliswellinthegreatmess" title="All Is Well In The Great Mess" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">All Is Well In The Great Mess</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/alliswellinthegreatmess/thich-nhat-hanh-please-call-me-by-my-true-names" title="Thich Nhat Hanh - Please Call Me by My True Names" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Thich Nhat Hanh - Please Call Me by My True Names</a></div>
<blockquote>
<p>Don’t say that I will depart tomorrow —<br>
even today I am still arriving.</p>
<p>Look deeply: every second I am arriving<br>
to be a bud on a Spring branch,<br>
to be a tiny bird, with still-fragile wings,<br>
learning to sing in my new nest,<br>
to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower,<br>
to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone.</p>
<p>I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry,<br>
to fear and to hope.</p>
<p>The rhythm of my heart is the birth and death<br>
of all that is alive.</p>
<p>I am the mayfly metamorphosing<br>
on the surface of the river.<br>
And I am the bird<br>
that swoops down to swallow the mayfly.</p>
<p>I am the frog swimming happily<br>
in the clear water of a pond.<br>
And I am the grass-snake<br>
that silently feeds itself on the frog.</p>
<p>I am the child in Uganda, all skin and bones,<br>
my legs as thin as bamboo sticks.<br>
And I am the arms merchant,<br>
selling deadly weapons to Uganda.</p>
<p>I am the twelve-year-old girl,<br>
refugee on a small boat,<br>
who throws herself into the ocean<br>
after being raped by a sea pirate.<br>
And I am the pirate,<br>
my heart not yet capable<br>
of seeing and loving.</p>
<p>I am a member of the politburo,<br>
with plenty of power in my hands.<br>
And I am the man who has to pay<br>
his “debt of blood” to my people<br>
dying slowly in a forced-labor camp.</p>
<p>My joy is like Spring, so warm<br>
it makes flowers bloom all over the Earth.<br>
My pain is like a river of tears,<br>
so vast it fills the four oceans.</p>
<p>Please call me by my true names,<br>
so I can hear all my cries and my laughter at once,<br>
so I can see that my joy and pain are one.</p>
<p>Please call me by my true names,<br>
so I can wake up,<br>
and so the door of my heart<br>
can be left open,<br>
the door of compassion.</p>
<p>– <cite><b>Thich Nhat Hanh</b>, *11 October 1926 - †22 January 2022</cite></p>
</blockquote>
https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/the-road-not-taken-by-robert-frost/Sun, 05 Sep 2021 11:16:27 +0000https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/the-road-not-taken-by-robert-frost/<p>Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,<br>
And sorry I could not travel both<br>
And be one traveler, long I stood<br>
And looked down one as far as I could<br>
To where it bent in the undergrowth;</p>
<p>Then took the other, as just as fair,<br>
And having perhaps the better claim,<br>
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;<br>
Though as for that the passing there<br>
Had worn them really about the same,</p>
<p>And both that morning equally lay<br>
In leaves no step had trodden black.<br>
Oh, I kept the first for another day!<br>
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,<br>
I doubted if I should ever come back.</p>
<p>I shall be telling this with a sigh<br>
Somewhere ages and ages hence:<br>
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—<br>
I took the one less traveled by,<br>
And that has made all the difference.</p>
<p><em>Source: <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1915/08/a-group-of-poems/306620/">Robert Frost, “A Group of Poems”, The Atlantic Monthly (August 1915).</a>
</em></p>
https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/invictus-by-william-ernest-henley/Fri, 03 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/invictus-by-william-ernest-henley/<p>Out of the night that covers me,<br>
Black as the pit from pole to pole,<br>
I thank whatever gods may be<br>
For my unconquerable soul.</p>
<p>In the fell clutch of circumstance<br>
I have not winced nor cried aloud.<br>
Under the bludgeonings of chance<br>
My head is bloody, but unbowed.</p>
<p>Beyond this place of wrath and tears<br>
Looms but the Horror of the shade,<br>
And yet the menace of the years<br>
Finds and shall find me unafraid.</p>
<p>It matters not how strait the gate,<br>
How charged with punishments the scroll,<br>
I am the master of my fate,<br>
I am the captain of my soul.</p>
<p><em>Source: <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/2027/hvd.hwk9sr">Henley, William Ernest (July 17, 1889). A book of verses. New York.</a>
</em></p>
https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/seneca-das-leben-ist-kurz-announcement/Wed, 21 Jul 2021 17:00:18 +0000https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/seneca-das-leben-ist-kurz-announcement/<p>Heute habe ich Marion Giebels Übersetzung von <a href="/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/seneca-das-leben-ist-kurz/">Senecas <strong>“Das Leben ist kurz”</strong></a>
 hinzugefügt. Der Text ist auch über den Menüpunkt <a href="/@alliswellinthegreatmess/stoicism/">“Stoicism”</a>
 erreichbar.</p>
https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/if-by-rudyard-kipling/Sat, 03 Jul 2021 14:10:48 +0000https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/if-by-rudyard-kipling/<div>
<div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;">If you can keep your head when all about you   <br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;">
     Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,   <br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;">
 If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,<br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;">
     But make allowance for their doubting too;   <br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;">
 If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,<br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;">
     Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,<br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;">
 Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,<br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;">
     And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:<br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;"><br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;">
 If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;   <br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;">
     If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;   <br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;">
 If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster<br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;">
     And treat those two impostors just the same;   <br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;">
 If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken<br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;">
     Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,<br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;">
 Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,<br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;">
     And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:<br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;"><br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;">
 If you can make one heap of all your winnings<br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;">
     And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,<br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;">
 And lose, and start again at your beginnings<br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;">
     And never breathe a word about your loss;<br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;">
 If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew<br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;">
     To serve your turn long after they are gone,   <br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;">
 And so hold on when there is nothing in you<br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;">
     Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’<br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;"><br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;">
 If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,   <br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;">
     Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,<br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;">
 If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,<br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;">
     If all men count with you, but none too much;<br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;">
 If you can fill the unforgiving minute<br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;">
     With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,   <br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;">
 Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,   <br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;">
     And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!<br></div><div style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;"><br></div>
</div>
<p><em>Source: A Choice of Kipling’s Verse (1943)</em></p>
https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/marcus-aurelius-meditations-announcement/Sat, 03 Jul 2021 14:04:05 +0000https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/marcus-aurelius-meditations-announcement/<p>Today I have added <a href="/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/marcus-aurelius-meditations/">Marcus Aurelius’ <strong>“Meditations”</strong></a>
, translated by Gregory Hays. You can also access it via the menu bar in the <a href="/@alliswellinthegreatmess/stoicism/">“Stoicism”</a>
 section.</p>
https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/seneca-on-the-shortness-of-life-announcement/Thu, 01 Jul 2021 20:02:07 +0000https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/seneca-on-the-shortness-of-life-announcement/<p>Today I have added <a href="/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/seneca-on-the-shortness-of-life">Seneca’s <strong>“On the Shortness of Life”</strong></a>
, translated by C.D.N. Costa. You can also access it via the menu bar in the <a href="/@alliswellinthegreatmess/stoicism/">“Stoicism”</a>
 section.</p>
https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/the-little-duck-by-donald-c-babcock/Wed, 21 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/the-little-duck-by-donald-c-babcock/<iframe width="100%" height="300" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/soundcloud%253Atracks%253A2398626633&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true"></iframe><div style="font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/alliswellinthegreatmess" title="All Is Well In The Great Mess" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">All Is Well In The Great Mess</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/alliswellinthegreatmess/edward-espe-brown-the-little" title="Edward Espe Brown - The Little Duck" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Edward Espe Brown - The Little Duck</a></div>
<p>Now we’re ready to look at something pretty special.<br>
It is a duck,<br>
riding the ocean a hundred feet beyond the surf.<br>
No it isn’t a gull.<br>
A gull always has a raucous touch about him.<br>
This is some sort of duck,<br>
and he cuddles in the swells.</p>
<p>He isn’t cold,<br>
and he is thinking things over.<br>
There is a big heaving in the Atlantic,<br>
and he is a part of it.</p>
<p>He looks a bit like a mandarin,<br>
or the Lord Buddha meditating under the Bo tree.</p>
<p>But he has hardly enough above the eyes<br>
to be a philosopher.<br>
He has poise, however,<br>
which is what philosophers must have.</p>
<p>He can rest while the Atlantic heaves,<br>
because he rests in the Atlantic.</p>
<p>Probably he doesn’t know how large the ocean is.<br>
And neither do you.<br>
But he realizes it.</p>
<p>And what does he do, I ask you?<br>
He sits down in it!<br>
He reposes in the immediate as if it were infinity<br>
– which it is.<br>
He has made himself a part of the boundless<br>
by easing himself into just where it touches him.</p>
<p>I like the duck.<br>
He doesn’t know much,<br>
but he’s got religion.</p>
https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/stoicism-in-a-time-of-pandemic-how-marcus-aurelius-can-help/Fri, 20 Nov 2020 12:42:52 +0000https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/stoicism-in-a-time-of-pandemic-how-marcus-aurelius-can-help/<p>The Meditations, by a Roman emperor who died in a plague named after him, has much to say about how to face fear, pain, anxiety and loss.</p>
<p>A great article from Donald Robertson, published by The Guardian:</p>
<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/apr/25/stoicism-in-a-time-of-pandemic-coronavirus-marcus-aurelius-the-meditations">Stoicism in the Time of Pandemic</a>
</p>
https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/marcus-aurelius-meditations-book-4/Fri, 20 Nov 2020 12:42:52 +0000https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/marcus-aurelius-meditations-book-4/<h2 id="book-4">Book 4</h2>
<p>1. Our inward power, when it obeys nature, reacts to events<br>
by accommodating itself to what it faces—to what is<br>
possible. It needs no specific material. It pursues its own<br>
aims as circumstances allow; it turns obstacles into fuel. As<br>
a fire overwhelms what would have quenched a lamp.<br>
What’s thrown on top of the conflagration is absorbed,<br>
consumed by it—and makes it burn still higher.</p>
<p>2. No random actions, none not based on underlying<br>
principles.</p>
<p>3. People try to get away from it all—to the country, to the<br>
beach, to the mountains. You always wish that you could too.<br>
Which is idiotic: you can get away from it anytime you like.</p>
<p>​	By going within.</p>
<p>​	Nowhere you can go is more peaceful—more free of<br>
interruptions—than your own soul. Especially if you have<br>
other things to rely on. An instant’s recollection and there it<br>
is: complete tranquillity. And by tranquillity I mean a kind of<br>
harmony.</p>
<p>​	So keep getting away from it all—like that. Renew<br>
yourself. But keep it brief and basic. A quick visit should be<br>
enough to ward off all < . . . > and send you back ready to<br>
face what awaits you.</p>
<p>​	What’s there to complain about? People’s misbehavior?<br>
But take into consideration:</p>
<p>​	• that rational beings exist for one another;<br>
​	• that doing what’s right sometimes requires patience;<br>
​	• that no one does the wrong thing deliberately;<br>
​	• and the number of people who have feuded and envied<br>
​		and hated and fought and died and been buried.</p>
<p>. . . and keep your mouth shut.</p>
<p>​	Or are you complaining about the things the world assigns<br>
you? But consider the two options: Providence or atoms.<br>
And all the arguments for seeing the world as a city.</p>
<p>​	Or is it your body? Keep in mind that when the mind<br>
detaches itself and realizes its own nature, it no longer has<br>
anything to do with ordinary life—the rough and the smooth,<br>
either one. And remember all you’ve been taught—and<br>
accepted—about pain and pleasure.</p>
<p>​	Or is it your reputation that’s bothering you? But look at<br>
how soon we’re all forgotten. The abyss of endless time that<br>
swallows it all. The emptiness of all those applauding hands.<br>
The people who praise us—how capricious they are, how<br>
arbitrary. And the tiny region in which it all takes place. The<br>
whole earth a point in space—and most of it uninhabited.<br>
How many people there will be to admire you, and who they<br>
are.</p>
<p>​	So keep this refuge in mind: the back roads of your self.<br>
Above all, no strain and no stress. Be straightforward. Look<br>
at things like a man, like a human being, like a citizen, like a<br>
mortal. And among the things you turn to, these two:</p>
<p>​	i. That things have no hold on the soul. They stand there<br>
​	unmoving, outside it. Disturbance comes only from<br>
​	within—from our own perceptions.</p>
<p>​	ii. That everything you see will soon alter and cease to<br>
​	exist. Think of how many changes you’ve already seen.<br>
​	“The world is nothing but change. Our life is only<br>
​	perception.”</p>
<p>4. If thought is something we share, then so is reason—what<br>
makes us reasoning beings.</p>
<p>​	If so, then the reason that tells us what to do and what not<br>
to do is also shared.</p>
<p>​	And if so, we share a common law.</p>
<p>​	And thus, are fellow citizens.</p>
<p>​	And fellow citizens of something.</p>
<p>​	And in that case, our state must be the world. What other<br>
entity could all of humanity belong to? And from it—from<br>
this state that we share—come thought and reason and law.</p>
<p>Where else could they come from? The earth that<br>
composes me derives from earth, the water from some other<br>
element, the air from its own source, the heat and fire from<br>
theirs—since nothing comes from nothing, or returns to it.</p>
<p>​	So thought must derive from somewhere else as well.</p>
<p>5. Death: something like birth, a natural mystery, elements<br>
that split and recombine.</p>
<p>​	Not an embarrassing thing. Not an offense to reason, or our<br>
nature.</p>
<p>6. That sort of person is bound to do that. You might as well<br>
resent a fig tree for secreting juice. (Anyway, before very<br>
long you’ll both be dead—dead and soon forgotten.)</p>
<p>7. Choose not to be harmed—and you won’t feel harmed.</p>
<p>​	Don’t feel harmed—and you haven’t been.</p>
<p>8. It can ruin your life only if it ruins your character.<br>
Otherwise it cannot harm you—inside or out.</p>
<p>9. It was for the best. So Nature had no choice but to do it.</p>
<p>10. That every event is the right one. Look closely and you’ll<br>
see.</p>
<p>​	Not just the right one overall, but right. As if someone had<br>
weighed it out with scales.</p>
<p>​	Keep looking closely like that, and embody it in your<br>
actions: goodness—what defines a good person.</p>
<p>​	Keep to it in everything you do.</p>
<p>11. Not what your enemy sees and hopes that you will, but<br>
what’s really there.</p>
<p>12. Two kinds of readiness are constantly needed: (i) to do<br>
only what the logos of authority and law directs, with the<br>
good of human beings in mind; (ii) to reconsider your<br>
position, when someone can set you straight or convert you to<br>
his. But your conversion should always rest on a conviction<br>
that it’s right, or benefits others—nothing else. Not because<br>
it’s more appealing or more popular.</p>
<p>13. You have a mind?</p>
<p>​	—Yes.</p>
<p>​	Well, why not use it? Isn’t that all you want—for it to do<br>
its job?</p>
<p>14. You have functioned as a part of something; you will<br>
vanish into what produced you.</p>
<p>​	Or be restored, rather.</p>
<p>​	To the <em>logos</em> from which all things spring.</p>
<p>​	By being changed.</p>
<p>15. Many lumps of incense on the same altar. One crumbles<br>
now, one later, but it makes no difference.</p>
<p>16. Now they see you as a beast, a monkey. But in a week<br>
they’ll think you’re a god—if you rediscover your beliefs<br>
and honor the <em>logos</em>.</p>
<p>17. Not to live as if you had endless years ahead of you.<br>
Death overshadows you. While you’re alive and able—be<br>
good.</p>
<p>18. The tranquillity that comes when you stop caring what<br>
they say. Or think, or do. Only what <em>you</em> do. (Is this fair? Is<br>
this the right thing to do?)</p>
<p>​	< . . . > not to be distracted by their darkness. To run<br>
straight for the finish line, unswerving.</p>
<p>19. People who are excited by posthumous fame forget that<br>
the people who remember them will soon die too. And those<br>
after them in turn. Until their memory, passed from one to<br>
another like a candle flame, gutters and goes out.</p>
<p>​	But suppose that those who remembered you were<br>
immortal and your memory undying. What good would it do<br>
you? And I don’t just mean when you’re dead, but in your<br>
own lifetime. What use is praise, except to make your<br>
lifestyle a little more comfortable?</p>
<p>​	“ You’re out of step—neglecting the gifts of nature to hand<br>
on someone’s words in the future. “</p>
<p>20. Beautiful things of any kind are beautiful in themselves<br>
and sufficient to themselves. Praise is extraneous. The object<br>
of praise remains what it was—no better and no worse. This<br>
applies, I think, even to “beautiful” things in ordinary life—<br>
physical objects, artworks.</p>
<p>​	Does anything genuinely beautiful need supplementing? No<br>
more than justice does—or truth, or kindness, or humility.<br>
Are any of those improved by being praised? Or damaged by<br>
contempt? Is an emerald suddenly flawed if no one admires<br>
it? Or gold, or ivory, or purple? Lyres? Knives? Flowers?<br>
Bushes?</p>
<p>21. If our souls survive, how does the air find room for them<br>
—all of them—since the beginning of time?</p>
<p>​	How does the earth find room for all the bodies buried in<br>
it since the beginning of time? They linger for whatever<br>
length of time, and then, through change and decomposition,<br>
make room for others. So too with the souls that inhabit the<br>
air. They linger a little, and then are changed—diffused and<br>
kindled into fire, absorbed into the logos from which all<br>
things spring, and so make room for new arrivals.</p>
<p>​	One possible answer.</p>
<p>​	But we shouldn’t think only of the mass of buried bodies.<br>
There are the ones consumed, on a daily basis, by us and by<br>
other animals. How many are swallowed up like that,<br>
entombed in the bodies of those nourished by them, and yet<br>
there is room for them all—converted into flesh and blood,<br>
transformed to air and fire.</p>
<p>​	How is the truth of this determined?</p>
<p>​	Through analysis: material and cause.</p>
<p>22. Not to be driven this way and that, but always to behave<br>
with justice and see things as they are.</p>
<p>23. To the world: Your harmony is mine. Whatever time you<br>
choose is the right time. Not late, not early.</p>
<p>​	To nature: What the turn of your seasons brings me falls<br>
like ripe fruit. All things are born from you, exist in you,<br>
return to you.</p>
<p>​	The poet says “dear city of Cecrops . . .” Can’t you bring<br>
yourself to say “of Zeus”?</p>
<p>24. “If you seek tranquillity, do less.” Or (more accurately)<br>
do what’s essential—what the logos of a social being<br>
requires, and in the requisite way. Which brings a double<br>
satisfaction: to do less, better.</p>
<p>​	Because most of what we say and do is not essential. If<br>
you can eliminate it, you’ll have more time, and more<br>
tranquillity. Ask yourself at every moment, “Is this<br>
necessary?”</p>
<p>​	But we need to eliminate unnecessary assumptions as<br>
well. To eliminate the unnecessary actions that follow.</p>
<p>25. And then you might see what the life of the good man is<br>
like—someone content with what nature assigns him, and<br>
satisfied with being just and kind himself.</p>
<p>26. You’ve seen that. Now look at this.</p>
<p>​	Don’t be disturbed. Uncomplicate yourself.</p>
<p>​	Someone has done wrong . . . to himself.</p>
<p>​	Something happens to you. Good. It was meant for you by<br>
nature, woven into the pattern from the beginning.</p>
<p>​	Life is short. That’s all there is to say. Get what you can<br>
from the present—thoughtfully, justly.</p>
<p>​	Unrestrained moderation.</p>
<p>27. An ordered world or a mishmash. But still an order. Can<br>
there be order within you and not in everything else? In<br>
things so different, so dispersed, so intertwined?</p>
<p>28. Character: dark, womanish, obstinate. Wolf, sheep, child,<br>
fool, cheat, buffoon, salesman, tyrant.</p>
<p>29. Alien: (n.) one who doesn’t know what the world<br>
contains. Or how it operates.</p>
<p>​	Fugitive: (n.) one who evades his obligations to others.</p>
<p>​	Blind: (adj.) one who keeps the eyes of his mind shut tight.</p>
<p>​	Poor: (adj.) requiring others; not having the necessities of<br>
life in one’s own possession.</p>
<p>​	Rebel: (n.) one who is rebellious, one who withdraws<br>
from the logos of Nature because he resents its workings. (It<br>
produced you; now it produces this.)</p>
<p>​	Schismatic: (n.) one who separates his own soul from<br>
others with the logos. They should be one.</p>
<p>30. A philosopher without clothes and one without books. “I<br>
have nothing to eat,” says he, as he stands there half-naked,<br>
“but I subsist on the logos.” And with nothing to read, I<br>
subsist on it too.</p>
<p>31. Love the discipline you know, and let it support you.<br>
Entrust everything willingly to the gods, and then make your<br>
way through life—no one’s master and no one’s slave.</p>
<p>32. The age of Vespasian, for example. People doing the<br>
exact same things: marrying, raising children, getting sick,<br>
dying, waging war, throwing parties, doing business,<br>
farming, flattering, boasting, distrusting, plotting, hoping<br>
others will die, complaining about their own lives, falling in<br>
love, putting away money, seeking high office and power.</p>
<p>​	And that life they led is nowhere to be found.</p>
<p>​	Or the age of Trajan. The exact same things. And that life<br>
too—gone.</p>
<p>​	Survey the records of other eras. And see how many others<br>
gave their all and soon died and decomposed into the<br>
elements that formed them.</p>
<p>​	But most of all, run through the list of those you knew<br>
yourself. Those who worked in vain, who failed to do what<br>
they should have—what they should have remained fixed on<br>
and found satisfaction in.</p>
<p>​	A key point to bear in mind: The value of attentiveness<br>
varies in proportion to its object. You’re better off not giving<br>
the small things more time than they deserve.</p>
<p>33. Words once in common use now sound archaic. And the<br>
names of the famous dead as well: Camillus, Caeso, Volesus,<br>
Dentatus . . . Scipio and Cato . . . Augustus . . . Hadrian and<br>
Antoninus, and . . .</p>
<p>​	Everything fades so quickly, turns into legend, and soon<br>
oblivion covers it.</p>
<p>​	And those are the ones who shone. The rest—“unknown,<br>
unasked-for” a minute after death. What is “eternal” fame?<br>
Emptiness.</p>
<p>​	Then what should we work for?</p>
<p>Only this: proper understanding; unselfish action; truthful<br>
speech. A resolve to accept whatever happens as necessary<br>
and familiar, flowing like water from that same source and<br>
spring.</p>
<p>34. Hand yourself over to Clotho voluntarily, and let her spin<br>
you into whatever she pleases.</p>
<p>35. Everything transitory—the knower and the known.</p>
<p>36. Constant awareness that everything is born from change.<br>
The knowledge that there is nothing nature loves more than to<br>
alter what exists and make new things like it. All that exists<br>
is the seed of what will emerge from it. You think the only<br>
seeds are the ones that make plants or children? Go deeper.</p>
<p>37. On the verge of dying and still weighed down, still<br>
turbulent, still convinced external things can harm you, still<br>
rude to other people, still not acknowledging the truth: that<br>
wisdom is justice.</p>
<p>38. Look into their minds, at what the wise do and what they<br>
don’t.</p>
<p>39. Nothing that goes on in anyone else’s mind can harm you.<br>
Nor can the shifts and changes in the world around you.</p>
<p>​	—Then where is harm to be found?</p>
<p>​	In your capacity to see it. Stop doing that and everything<br>
will be fine. Let the part of you that makes that judgment keep<br>
quiet even if the body it’s attached to is stabbed or burnt, or<br>
stinking with pus, or consumed by cancer. Or to put it another<br>
way: It needs to realize that what happens to everyone—bad<br>
and good alike—is neither good nor bad. That what happens<br>
in every life—lived naturally or not—is neither natural nor<br>
unnatural.</p>
<p>40. The world as a living being—one nature, one soul. Keep<br>
that in mind. And how everything feeds into that single<br>
experience, moves with a single motion. And how everything<br>
helps produce everything else. Spun and woven together.</p>
<p>41. “A little wisp of soul carrying a corpse.”—Epictetus.</p>
<p>42. There is nothing bad in undergoing change—or good in<br>
emerging from it.</p>
<p>43. Time is a river, a violent current of events, glimpsed<br>
once and already carried past us, and another follows and is<br>
gone.</p>
<p>44. Everything that happens is as simple and familiar as the<br>
rose in spring, the fruit in summer: disease, death,<br>
blasphemy, conspiracy . . . everything that makes stupid<br>
people happy or angry.</p>
<p>45. What follows coheres with what went before. Not like a<br>
random catalogue whose order is imposed upon it arbitrarily,<br>
but logically connected. And just as what exists is ordered<br>
and harmonious, what comes into being betrays an order too.<br>
Not a mere sequence, but an astonishing concordance.</p>
<p>46. Remember Heraclitus: “When earth dies, it becomes<br>
water; water, air; air, fire; and back to the beginning.”</p>
<p>​	“Those who have forgotten where the road leads.”</p>
<p>​	“They are at odds with what is all around them”—the alldirecting<br>
logos. And “they find alien what they meet with<br>
every day.”</p>
<p>​	“Our words and actions should not be like those of<br>
sleepers” (for we act and speak in dreams as well) “or of<br>
children copying their parents”—doing and saying only what<br>
we have been told.</p>
<p>47. Suppose that a god announced that you were going to die<br>
tomorrow “or the day after.” Unless you were a complete<br>
coward you wouldn’t kick up a fuss about which day it was<br>
—what difference could it make? Now recognize that the<br>
difference between years from now and tomorrow is just as<br>
small.</p>
<p>48. Don’t let yourself forget how many doctors have died,<br>
after furrowing their brows over how many deathbeds. How<br>
many astrologers, after pompous forecasts about others’<br>
ends. How many philosophers, after endless disquisitions on<br>
death and immortality. How many warriors, after inflicting<br>
thousands of casualties themselves. How many tyrants, after<br>
abusing the power of life and death atrociously, as if they<br>
were themselves immortal.</p>
<p>​	How many whole cities have met their end: Helike,<br>
Pompeii, Herculaneum, and countless others.</p>
<p>​	And all the ones you know yourself, one after another. One<br>
who laid out another for burial, and was buried himself, and<br>
then the man who buried him—all in the same short space of<br>
time.</p>
<p>​	In short, know this: Human lives are brief and trivial.<br>
Yesterday a blob of semen; tomorrow embalming fluid, ash.</p>
<p>​	To pass through this brief life as nature demands. To give<br>
it upwithout complaint.</p>
<p>​	Like an olive that ripens and falls.</p>
<p>​	Praising its mother, thanking the tree it grew on.</p>
<p>49. To be like the rock that the waves keep crashing over. It<br>
stands unmoved and the raging of the sea falls still around it.</p>
<p>49a. —It’s unfortunate that this has happened.</p>
<p>​	No. It’s fortunate that this has happened and I’ve remained<br>
unharmed by it—not shattered by the present or frightened of<br>
the future. It could have happened to anyone. But not<br>
everyone could have remained unharmed by it. Why treat the<br>
one as a misfortune rather than the other as fortunate? Can<br>
you really call something a misfortune that doesn’t violate<br>
human nature? Or do you think something that’s not against<br>
nature’s will can violate it? But you know what its will is.<br>
Does what’s happened keep you from acting with justice,<br>
generosity, self-control, sanity, prudence, honesty, humility,<br>
straightforwardness, and all the other qualities that allow a<br>
person’s nature to fulfill itself?</p>
<p>​	So remember this principle when something threatens to<br>
cause you pain: the thing itself was no misfortune at all; to<br>
endure it and prevail is great good fortune.</p>
<p>50. A trite but effective tactic against the fear of death: think<br>
of the list of people who had to be pried away from life.<br>
What did they gain by dying old? In the end, they all sleep six<br>
feet under—Caedicianus, Fabius, Julian, Lepidus, and all the<br>
rest. They buried their contemporaries, and were buried in<br>
turn.</p>
<p>​	Our lifetime is so brief. And to live it out in these<br>
circumstances, among these people, in this body? Nothing to<br>
get excited about. Consider the abyss of time past, the infinite<br>
future. Three days of life or three generations: what’s the<br>
difference?</p>
<p>51. Take the shortest route, the one that nature planned—to<br>
speak and act in the healthiest way. Do that, and be free of<br>
pain and stress, free of all calculation and pretension.</p>
https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/marcus-aurelius-meditations-book-3/Fri, 20 Nov 2020 12:42:52 +0000https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/marcus-aurelius-meditations-book-3/<h2 id="book-3">Book 3</h2>
<p>IN CARNUNTUM</p>
<p>1. Not just that every day more of our life is used up and less<br>
and less of it is left, but this too: if we live longer, can we be<br>
sure our mind will still be up to understanding the world—to<br>
the contemplation that aims at divine and human knowledge?<br>
If our mind starts to wander, we’ll still go on breathing, go<br>
on eating, imagining things, feeling urges and so on. But<br>
getting the most out of ourselves, calculating where our duty<br>
lies, analyzing what we hear and see, deciding whether it’s<br>
time to call it quits—all the things you need a healthy mind<br>
for . . . all those are gone.</p>
<p>​	So we need to hurry.</p>
<p>Not just because we move daily closer to death but also<br>
because our understanding—our grasp of the world—may be<br>
gone before we get there.</p>
<p>2. We should remember that even Nature’s inadvertence has<br>
its own charm, its own attractiveness. The way loaves of<br>
bread split open on top in the oven; the ridges are just byproducts<br>
of the baking, and yet pleasing, somehow: they<br>
rouse our appetite without our knowing why.</p>
<p>​	Or how ripe figs begin to burst.</p>
<p>​	And olives on the point of falling: the shadow of decay<br>
gives them a peculiar beauty.</p>
<p>​	Stalks of wheat bending under their own weight. The<br>
furrowed brow of the lion. Flecks of foam on the boar’s<br>
mouth.</p>
<p>​	And other things. If you look at them in isolation there’s<br>
nothing beautiful about them, and yet by supplementing nature<br>
they enrich it and draw us in. And anyone with a feeling for<br>
nature—a deeper sensitivity—will find it all gives pleasure.<br>
Even what seems inadvertent. He’ll find the jaws of live<br>
animals as beautiful as painted ones or sculptures. He’ll look<br>
calmly at the distinct beauty of old age in men, women, and at<br>
the loveliness of children. And other things like that will call<br>
out to him constantly—things unnoticed by others. Things<br>
seen only by those at home with Nature and its works.</p>
<p>3. Hippocrates cured many illnesses—and then fell ill and<br>
died. The Chaldaeans predicted the deaths of many others; in<br>
due course their own hour arrived. Alexander, Pompey,<br>
Caesar—who utterly destroyed so many cities, cut down so<br>
many thousand foot and horse in battle—they too departed<br>
this life. Heraclitus often told us the world would end in fire.<br>
But it was moisture that carried him off; he died smeared<br>
with cowshit. Democritus was killed by ordinary vermin,<br>
Socrates by the human kind.</p>
<p>​	And?</p>
<p>​	You boarded, you set sail, you’ve made the passage. Time<br>
to disembark. If it’s for another life, well, there’s nowhere<br>
without gods on that side either. If to nothingness, then you no<br>
longer have to put up with pain and pleasure, or go on<br>
dancing attendance on this battered crate, your body—so<br>
much inferior to that which serves it.</p>
<p>​	One is mind and spirit, the other earth and garbage.</p>
<p>4. Don’t waste the rest of your time here worrying about<br>
other people—unless it affects the common good. It will<br>
keep you from doing anything useful. You’ll be too<br>
preoccupied with what so-and-so is doing, and why, and<br>
what they’re saying, and what they’re thinking, and what<br>
they’re up to, and all the other things that throw you off and<br>
keep you from focusing on your own mind.</p>
<p>​	You need to avoid certain things in your train of thought:<br>
everything random, everything irrelevant. And certainly<br>
everything self-important or malicious. You need to get used<br>
to winnowing your thoughts, so that if someone says, “What<br>
are you thinking about?” you can respond at once (and<br>
truthfully) that you are thinking this or thinking that. And it<br>
would be obvious at once from your answer that your<br>
thoughts were straightforward and considerate ones—the<br>
thoughts of an unselfish person, one unconcerned with<br>
pleasure and with sensual indulgence generally, with<br>
squabbling, with slander and envy, or anything else you’d be<br>
ashamed to be caught thinking.</p>
<p>​	Someone like that—someone who refuses to put off<br>
joining the elect—is a kind of priest, a servant of the gods, in<br>
touch with what is within him and what keeps a person<br>
undefiled by pleasures, invulnerable to any pain, untouched<br>
by arrogance, unaffected by meanness, an athlete in the<br>
greatest of all contests—the struggle not to be overwhelmed<br>
by anything that happens. With what leaves us dyed indelibly<br>
by justice, welcoming wholeheartedly whatever comes—<br>
whatever we’re assigned—not worrying too often, or with<br>
any selfish motive, about what other people say. Or do, or<br>
think.</p>
<p>​	He does only what is his to do, and considers constantly<br>
what the world has in store for him—doing his best, and<br>
trusting that all is for the best. For we carry our fate with us<br>
—and it carries us.</p>
<p>​	He keeps in mind that all rational things are related, and<br>
that to care for all human beings is part of being human.<br>
Which doesn’t mean we have to share their opinions. We<br>
should listen only to those whose lives conform to nature.<br>
And the others? He bears in mind what sort of people they<br>
are—both at home and abroad, by night as well as day—and<br>
who they spend their time with. And he cares nothing for<br>
their praise—men who can’t even meet their own standards.</p>
<p>5. How to act:</p>
<p>​	Never under compulsion, out of selfishness, without<br>
​		forethought, with misgivings.</p>
<p>​	Don’t gussy up your thoughts.</p>
<p>​	No surplus words or unnecessary actions.</p>
<p>​	Let the spirit in you represent a man, an adult, a citizen,<br>
​		a Roman, a ruler. Taking up his post like a soldier<br>
​		and patiently awaiting his recall from life. Needing<br>
​		no oath or witness.</p>
<p>Cheerfulness. Without requiring other people’s help. Or<br>
serenity supplied by others.</p>
<p>​	To stand up straight—not straightened.</p>
<p>6. If, at some point in your life, you should come across<br>
anything better than justice, honesty, self-control, courage—<br>
than a mind satisfied that it has succeeded in enabling you to<br>
act rationally, and satisfied to accept what’s beyond its<br>
control—if you find anything better than that, embrace it<br>
without reservations—it must be an extraordinary thing<br>
indeed—and enjoy it to the full.</p>
<p>​	But if nothing presents itself that’s superior to the spirit<br>
that lives within—the one that has subordinated individual<br>
desires to itself, that discriminates among impressions, that<br>
has broken free of physical temptations (as Socrates used to<br>
say), and subordinated itself to the gods, and looks out for<br>
human beings’ welfare—if you find that there’s nothing more<br>
important or valuable than that . . .</p>
<p>​	. . . then don’t make room for anything but it—for anything<br>
that might lead you astray, tempt you off the road, and leave<br>
you unable to devote yourself completely to achieving the<br>
goodness that is uniquely yours. It would be wrong for<br>
anything to stand between you and attaining goodness—as a<br>
rational being and a citizen. Anything at all: the applause of<br>
the crowd, high office, wealth, or self-indulgence. All of<br>
them might seem to be compatible with it—for a while. But<br>
suddenly they control us and sweep us away.</p>
<p>​	So make your choice straightforwardly, once and for all,<br>
and stick to it. Choose what’s best.</p>
<p>​	—Best is what benefits me.</p>
<p>​	As a rational being? Then follow through. Or just as an<br>
animal? Then say so and stand your ground without making a<br>
show of it. (Just make sure you’ve done your homework<br>
first.)</p>
<p>7. Never regard something as doing you good if it makes you<br>
betray a trust, or lose your sense of shame, or makes you<br>
show hatred, suspicion, ill will, or hypocrisy, or a desire for<br>
things best done behind closed doors. If you can privilege<br>
your own mind, your guiding spirit and your reverence for its<br>
powers, that should keep you clear of dramatics, of wailing<br>
and gnashing of teeth. You won’t need solitude—or a cast of<br>
thousands, either. Above all, you’ll be free of fear and<br>
desire. And how long your body will contain the soul that<br>
inhabits it will cause you not a moment’s worry. If it’s time<br>
for you to go, leave willingly—as you would to accomplish<br>
anything that can be done with grace and honor. And<br>
concentrate on this, your whole life long: for your mind to be<br>
in the right state—the state a rational, civic mind should be<br>
in.</p>
<p>8. The mind of one set straight and purified: no pus, no dirt,<br>
no scabs.</p>
<p>​	And not a life cut short by death, like an actor who stops<br>
before the play is done, the plot wound up.</p>
<p>​	Neither servility nor arrogance. Neither cringing nor<br>
disdain. Neither excuses nor evasions.</p>
<p>9. Your ability to control your thoughts—treat it with respect.<br>
It’s all that protects your mind from false perceptions—false<br>
to your nature, and that of all rational beings. It’s what makes<br>
thoughtfulness possible, and affection for other people, and<br>
submission to the divine.</p>
<p>10. Forget everything else. Keep hold of this alone and<br>
remember it: Each of us lives only now, this brief instant.<br>
The rest has been lived already, or is impossible to see. The<br>
span we live is small—small as the corner of the earth in<br>
which we live it. Small as even the greatest renown, passed<br>
from mouth to mouth by short-lived stick figures, ignorant<br>
alike of themselves and those long dead.</p>
<p>11. To the stand-bys above, add this one: always to define<br>
whatever it is we perceive—to trace its outline—so we can<br>
see what it really is: its substance. Stripped bare. As a<br>
whole. Unmodified. And to call it by its name—the thing<br>
itself and its components, to which it will eventually return.<br>
Nothing is so conducive to spiritual growth as this capacity<br>
for logical and accurate analysis of everything that happens<br>
to us. To look at it in such a way that we understand what<br>
need it fulfills, and in what kind of world. And its value to<br>
that world as a whole and to man in particular—as a citizen<br>
of that higher city, of which all other cities are mere<br>
households.</p>
<p>​	What is it—this thing that now forces itself on my notice?<br>
What is it made up of? How long was it designed to last?<br>
And what qualities do I need to bring to bear on it—<br>
tranquillity, courage, honesty, trustworthiness,<br>
straightforwardness, independence or what?</p>
<p>​	So in each case you need to say: “This is due to God.” Or:<br>
“This is due to the interweavings and intertwinings of fate, to<br>
coincidence or chance.” Or: “This is due to a human being.<br>
Someone of the same race, the same birth, the same society,<br>
but who doesn’t know what nature requires of him. But I do.<br>
And so I’ll treat them as the law that binds us—the law of<br>
nature—requires. With kindness and with justice.</p>
<p>​	And in inconsequential things? I’ll do my best to treat them<br>
as they deserve.”</p>
<p>12. If you do the job in a principled way, with diligence,<br>
energy and patience, if you keep yourself free of distractions,<br>
and keep the spirit inside you undamaged, as if you might<br>
have to give it back at any moment—</p>
<p>​	If you can embrace this without fear or expectation—can<br>
find fulfillment in what you’re doing now, as Nature<br>
intended, and in superhuman truthfulness (every word, every<br>
utterance)—then your life will be happy.</p>
<p>​	No one can prevent that.</p>
<p>13. Doctors keep their scalpels and other instruments handy,<br>
for emergencies. Keep your philosophy ready too—ready to<br>
understand heaven and earth. In everything you do, even the<br>
smallest thing, remember the chain that links them. Nothing<br>
earthly succeeds by ignoring heaven, nothing heavenly by<br>
ignoring the earth.</p>
<p>14. Stop drifting. You’re not going to re-read your Brief<br>
Comments, your Deeds of the Ancient Greeks and Romans,<br>
the commonplace books you saved for your old age. Sprint<br>
for the finish. Write off your hopes, and if your well-being<br>
matters to you, be your own savior while you can.</p>
<p>15. They don’t realize how much is included in stealing,<br>
sowing, buying, resting, seeing to business (not with the<br>
eyes, but another kind of sight).</p>
<p>16. Body. Soul. Mind.</p>
<p>​	Sensations: the body.</p>
<p>​	Desires: the soul.</p>
<p>​	Reasoning: the mind.</p>
<p>​	To experience sensations: even grazing beasts do that. To<br>
let your desires control you: even wild animals do that—and<br>
rutting humans, and tyrants (from Phalaris to Nero . . .).</p>
<p>​	To make your mind your guide to what seems best: even<br>
people who deny the gods do that. Even people who betray<br>
their country. Even people who do <. . .> behind closed<br>
doors.</p>
<p>​	If all the rest is common coin, then what is unique to the<br>
good man?</p>
<p>​	To welcome with affection what is sent by fate. Not to<br>
stain or disturb the spirit within him with a mess of false<br>
beliefs. Instead, to preserve it faithfully, by calmly obeying<br>
God—saying nothing untrue, doing nothing unjust. And if the<br>
others don’t acknowledge it—this life lived with simplicity,<br>
humility, cheerfulness—he doesn’t resent them for it, and<br>
isn’t deterred from following the road where it leads: to the<br>
end of life. An end to be approached in purity, in serenity, in<br>
acceptance, in peaceful unity with what must be.</p>
https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/keeping-a-stoic-journal/Fri, 20 Nov 2020 12:42:52 +0000https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/keeping-a-stoic-journal/<p>I have experimented with other exercises, but journaling is my primary Stoic exercise, although I journal a variety of ways.</p>
<p>One of the better starting points (not historically Stoic, but influenced by Stoicism) is the <a href="http://thephilosophersmail.com/virtues/philosophical-meditation-a-guide/">philosophical meditation routine from the The Philosopher’s Mail</a>
, although I personally bring more Stoic elements into it by, in addition to the questions listed there, I ask what the different experiences say about what I value, whether these values concern virtues/vices or externals, and what virtues and vices <em>do</em> apply.</p>
<p>Although I think it clear that writing was an important element in ancient Stoic training, explicit instructions are lacking. The best references I know of are Marcus Aurelius’s <em>Meditations</em> as an example of such writing, Epictetus’s Discourses <a href="https://archive.org/stream/MN40058ucmf_2?ui=embed#page/n50/mode/1up">I.1</a>
 and <a href="https://archive.org/stream/MN40058ucmf_2?ui=embed#page/n150/mode/1up">II.1</a>
. There is also <del>some Seneca I am failing to dig up right now.</del> Seneca’s letter 84.</p>
<p>Other journaling ideas, some Stoic (or at least related to Stoicism), some not (repeated from an <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/comments/2qevr5/what_practices_or_habits_do_you_use_to_live_an/cn5u1pu">earlier comment of mine</a>
):</p>
<ul>
<li>Following the examples in the first chapter of the Marcus Aurelius’s <em>Meditations,</em> pick something or someone you admire or for which you are grateful, and list the reasons why, being specific.</li>
<li>Pick a philosophical or ethical principle you agree with but do not reliably live by (from Stoicism or elsewhere), and rephrase it in your own words. Think of this as launching an advertising campaign targeting yourself. Just as commercial advertisements use assorted tricks (repetition, association, etc.) to generate impulses to buy things, have your rational mind use the same tricks to generate impulses to follow your principles.</li>
<li>Think of a person, real or fictional, whose wisdom and good judgement you admire. Imagine that they have just watched the way you spent your day, then try to write a letter of advice from their point of view to yourself. Note that you don’t necessarily have to <em>agree</em> with what you write; the additional perspective, even if you reject it, can help you gain perspective.</li>
<li>Think about what you value, from the perspective of looking at your whole life. (See the <a href="http://www.lifevaluesinventory.org/">life values inventory</a>
 of the <a href="https://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/">VIA survey of character strengths</a>
) Go through every thing you did during the day, and think about how it relates to these values.</li>
<li>Write a letter of thanks to yourself for things well done.</li>
<li>If there is something you have done that you regret, write a letter of apology to yourself. (See <a href="http://www.perfectapology.com/how-to-say-im-sorry.html">here</a>
 for some guidance on what it should contain.) If it includes promissory an or restitution parts, make concrete plans. Then write a letter of forgiveness in response.</li>
<li>Pick an emotionally charged situation from your life, and give a detailed account of it in emotionally neutral language, maybe from the point of view of an alien anthropologist.</li>
<li>For a morally or emotionally challenging event (either recently experienced or likely future), list what character strengths or virtues are most relevant to handling it well, and what you think it would mean to handle it well exhibiting those strengths and virtues.</li>
<li>For a morally or emotionally challenging event, list what impulses and gut reactions you have, what beliefs about what is good and bad they imply, and then consider which are true goods and bads, which are preferred or unpreferred indifferents, and which are neutral indifferents. Always refer back to your actual global values (see above).</li>
<li>Use self-monitoring and quantified-self tracking techniques to support any plans you might make that arise from things listed above (letters of apology, etc.) (Edit: See <a href="http://www.bartleby.com/1/1/4.html#167">Ben Franklin’s virtue log</a>
 or assorted self-monitoring exercise in the Stoic Week booklets.)</li>
<li>Imagine a realistic future, say 10 years from now, in which things have turned out well, in which you have achieved what you want while exhibiting a character of which you can be justly proud. Write a detailed account of this future, and the events between now and then.</li>
<li>Imagine a future in which you have been unlucky, but have always acted in a way you admire, and give a detailed account.</li>
<li>If you are worried about something, write out what you are worried about in an organized, systematic way. Relate everything back to your core values, virtues, and character.</li>
<li>Write out of list of situations in which you personally find emotionally or ethically challenging. Think about what triggers the response you want to avoid.</li>
<li>Imagine it is one, ten, and 30 years from now. Write out what events of today you think you will remember then, and how important you will consider them to be. Write out how much someone 100, 1000, and 5000 years from now will know about your day today.</li>
<li>Think about the people you encountered today, or are likely to encounter tomorrow. Imagine what they want, fear, etc. Think of one or two small kindnesses you can do for them, and make plans to do them.</li>
<li>Go back to the most recent political or ethical argument from a book, editorial, etc. that you agreed with. Carefully write out the premises and conclusions, reducing the argument to syllogisms. Then, go through the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fallacies">list of fallacies</a>
, and write out attacks on your argument, as strongly as you can, considering each fallacy, starting with the strongest you can find.</li>
<li>For an opinion or non-fiction book you are reading or have recently read, create an outline, and for each section list what you think the author thinks are the most important points in each section. List them, and evaluate them using the <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2009/08/06/the-grid-of-disputation/#.VJ2ZBLCA0">grid of disputation</a>
, then back up your rating in writing.</li>
<li>For a work of fiction (written, TV, movie, etc.), list the characters. Imagine that each could “take over” your life for a day, preserving their own temperament and judgement, but limited to your body, skill, resources, and knowledge. How would each have lived your day? Which do you admire most?</li>
</ul>
<p>For more on classical writing exercises for moral development, look up books on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progymnasmata">progymnasmata</a>
, for example <a href="https://openlibrary.org/books/OL8844434M/Progymnasmata">the collection of translations of ancient sources by Kennedy</a>
.</p>
<p>These exercises share many characteristics with physical fitness exercises.</p>
<ul>
<li>Just as physical exercises will never mean you are immune to injury and disease, and never result in infinite strength or endurance, these exercises will never make you a sage. However, it’s better to be fit than not.</li>
<li>Don’t try to do too much at once, or expect too much at once. Be wary of injuries, disillusionment, and burn-out from over-training.</li>
<li>Balance variety and routine. Cross training is good, but sustained effort is needed as well.</li>
<li>Sometimes, particularly when addressing an injury or illness, a mentor is needed. Someone in generally good health can “go it alone” with a modest exercise routine. Someone with an injury is better off with a physical therapist. A novice training for a triathlon might benefit from a coach.</li>
<li>When you stop working at all, you lose much of what you gained.</li>
</ul>
<p>Author: <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/cleomedes/">cleomedes</a>
</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Stoicism/comments/3xyjfc/keeping_a_stoic_journal/cy925wz?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3">Keeping a Stoic Journal</a>
</p>
https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/stoics-are-speaking-to-locked-down-readers/Thu, 16 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/stoics-are-speaking-to-locked-down-readers/<p>Sales of works by ancient Roman Marcus Aurelius have seen a sharp uptick in recent months.</p>
<p>According to Penguin Random House, print sales of Meditations are up 28% for the first quarter of 2020 vs 2019, while print sales of Letters from a Stoic are up 42% for the same period. In the last four weeks, its ebook sales rose by 356%"</p>
<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2020/apr/16/how-stoics-are-speaking-to-locked-down-readers">The Guardian: ‘Dress rehearsal for catastrophe’: how Stoics are speaking to locked-down readers.</a>
</p>
https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/marcus-aurelius-meditations-book-2/Wed, 15 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/marcus-aurelius-meditations-book-2/<h2 id="book-2">Book 2</h2>
<p>ON THE RIVER GRAN, AMONG THE QUADI</p>
<p>1. When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: The<br>
people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful,<br>
arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surly. They are like this<br>
because they can’t tell good from evil. But I have seen the<br>
beauty of good, and the ugliness of evil, and have recognized<br>
that the wrongdoer has a nature related to my own—not of<br>
the same blood or birth, but the same mind, and possessing a<br>
share of the divine. And so none of them can hurt me. No one<br>
can implicate me in ugliness. Nor can I feel angry at my<br>
relative, or hate him. We were born to work together like<br>
feet, hands, and eyes, like the two rows of teeth, upper and<br>
lower. To obstruct each other is unnatural. To feel anger at<br>
someone, to turn your back on him: these are obstructions.</p>
<p>2. Whatever this is that I am, it is flesh and a little spirit and<br>
an intelligence. Throw away your books; stop letting yourself<br>
be distracted. That is not allowed. Instead, as if you were<br>
dying right now, despise your flesh. A mess of blood, pieces<br>
of bone, a woven tangle of nerves, veins, arteries. Consider<br>
what the spirit is: air, and never the same air, but vomited out<br>
and gulped in again every instant. Finally, the intelligence.<br>
Think of it this way: You are an old man. Stop allowing your<br>
mind to be a slave, to be jerked about by selfish impulses, to<br>
kick against fate and the present, and to mistrust the future.</p>
<p>3. What is divine is full of Providence. Even chance is not<br>
divorced from nature, from the inweaving and enfolding of<br>
things governed by Providence. Everything proceeds from it.<br>
And then there is necessity and the needs of the whole world,<br>
of which you are a part. Whatever the nature of the whole<br>
does, and whatever serves to maintain it, is good for every<br>
part of nature. The world is maintained by change—in the<br>
elements and in the things they compose. That should be<br>
enough for you; treat it as an axiom. Discard your thirst for<br>
books, so that you won’t die in bitterness, but in cheerfulness<br>
and truth, grateful to the gods from the bottom of your heart.</p>
<p>4. Remember how long you’ve been putting this off, how<br>
many extensions the gods gave you, and you didn’t use them.<br>
At some point you have to recognize what world it is that you<br>
belong to; what power rules it and from what source you<br>
spring; that there is a limit to the time assigned you, and if<br>
you don’t use it to free yourself it will be gone and will<br>
never return.</p>
<p>5. Concentrate every minute like a Roman—like a man—on<br>
doing what’s in front of you with precise and genuine<br>
seriousness, tenderly, willingly, with justice. And on freeing<br>
yourself from all other distractions. Yes, you can—if you do<br>
everything as if it were the last thing you were doing in your<br>
life, and stop being aimless, stop letting your emotions<br>
override what your mind tells you, stop being hypocritical,<br>
self-centered, irritable. You see how few things you have to<br>
do to live a satisfying and reverent life? If you can manage<br>
this, that’s all even the gods can ask of you.</p>
<p>6. Yes, keep on degrading yourself, soul. But soon your<br>
chance at dignity will be gone. Everyone gets one life. Yours<br>
is almost used up, and instead of treating yourself with<br>
respect, you have entrusted your own happiness to the souls<br>
of others.</p>
<p>7. Do external things distract you? Then make time for<br>
yourself to learn something worthwhile; stop letting yourself<br>
be pulled in all directions. But make sure you guard against<br>
the other kind of confusion. People who labor all their lives<br>
but have no purpose to direct every thought and impulse<br>
toward are wasting their time—even when hard at work.</p>
<p>8. Ignoring what goes on in other people’s souls—no one<br>
ever came to grief that way. But if you won’t keep track of<br>
what your own soul’s doing, how can you not be unhappy?</p>
<p>9. Don’t ever forget these things:</p>
<p>​	The nature of the world.</p>
<p>​	My nature.</p>
<p>​	How I relate to the world.</p>
<p>​	What proportion of it I make up.</p>
<p>​	That you are part of nature, and no one can prevent you<br>
​		from speaking and acting in harmony with it, always.</p>
<p>10. In comparing sins (the way people do) Theophrastus says<br>
that the ones committed out of desire are worse than the ones<br>
committed out of anger: which is good philosophy. The angry<br>
man seems to turn his back on reason out of a kind of pain<br>
and inner convulsion. But the man motivated by desire, who<br>
is mastered by pleasure, seems somehow more selfindulgent,<br>
less manly in his sins. Theophrastus is right, and<br>
philosophically sound, to say that the sin committed out of<br>
pleasure deserves a harsher rebuke than the one committed<br>
out of pain. The angry man is more like a victim of<br>
wrongdoing, provoked by pain to anger. The other man<br>
rushes into wrongdoing on his own, moved to action by<br>
desire.</p>
<p>11. You could leave life right now. Let that determine what<br>
you do and say and think. If the gods exist, then to abandon<br>
human beings is not frightening; the gods would never subject<br>
you to harm. And if they don’t exist, or don’t care what<br>
happens to us, what would be the point of living in a world<br>
without gods or Providence? But they do exist, they do care<br>
what happens to us, and everything a person needs to avoid<br>
real harm they have placed within him. If there were anything<br>
harmful on the other side of death, they would have made<br>
sure that the ability to avoid it was within you. If it doesn’t<br>
harm your character, how can it harm your life? Nature<br>
would not have overlooked such dangers through failing to<br>
recognize them, or because it saw them but was powerless to<br>
prevent or correct them. Nor would it ever, through inability<br>
or incompetence, make such a mistake as to let good and bad<br>
things happen indiscriminately to good and bad alike. But<br>
death and life, success and failure, pain and pleasure, wealth<br>
and poverty, all these happen to good and bad alike, and they<br>
are neither noble nor shameful—and hence neither good nor<br>
bad.</p>
<p>12. The speed with which all of them vanish—the objects in<br>
the world, and the memory of them in time. And the real<br>
nature of the things our senses experience, especially those<br>
that entice us with pleasure or frighten us with pain or are<br>
loudly trumpeted by pride. To understand those things—how<br>
stupid, contemptible, grimy, decaying, and dead they are—<br>
that’s what our intellectual powers are for. And to<br>
understand what those people really amount to, whose<br>
opinions and voices constitute fame. And what dying is—and<br>
that if you look at it in the abstract and break down your<br>
imaginary ideas of it by logical analysis, you realize that it’s<br>
nothing but a process of nature, which only children can be<br>
afraid of. (And not only a process of nature but a necessary<br>
one.) And how man grasps God, with what part of himself he<br>
does so, and how that part is conditioned when he does.</p>
<p>13. Nothing is more pathetic than people who run around in<br>
circles, “delving into the things that lie beneath” and<br>
conducting investigations into the souls of the people around<br>
them, never realizing that all you have to do is to be attentive<br>
to the power inside you and worship it sincerely. To worship<br>
it is to keep it from being muddied with turmoil and<br>
becoming aimless and dissatisfied with nature—divine and<br>
human. What is divine deserves our respect because it is<br>
good; what is human deserves our affection because it is like<br>
us. And our pity too, sometimes, for its inability to tell good<br>
from bad—as terrible a blindness as the kind that can’t tell<br>
white from black.</p>
<p>14. Even if you’re going to live three thousand more years, or<br>
ten times that, remember: you cannot lose another life than<br>
the one you’re living now, or live another one than the one<br>
you’re losing. The longest amounts to the same as the<br>
shortest. The present is the same for everyone; its loss is the<br>
same for everyone; and it should be clear that a brief instant<br>
is all that is lost. For you can’t lose either the past or the<br>
future; how could you lose what you don’t have?</p>
<p>​	Remember two things:</p>
<p>​		i. that everything has always been the same, and keeps<br>
​		recurring, and it makes no difference whether you see<br>
​		the same things recur in a hundred years or two hundred,<br>
​		or in an infinite period;</p>
<p>​		ii. that the longest-lived and those who will die soonest<br>
​		lose the same thing. The present is all that they can give<br>
​		up, since that is all you have, and what you do not have,<br>
​		you cannot lose.</p>
<p>15. “Everything is just an impression.” —Monimus the<br>
Cynic. And the response is obvious enough. But the point is a<br>
useful one, if you take it for what it’s worth.</p>
<p>16. The human soul degrades itself:</p>
<p>​	i. Above all, when it does its best to become an<br>
​	abscess, a kind of detached growth on the world. To be<br>
​	disgruntled at anything that happens is a kind of<br>
​	secession from Nature, which comprises the nature of<br>
​	all things.</p>
<p>​	ii. When it turns its back on another person or sets out to<br>
​	do it harm, as the souls of the angry do.</p>
<p>​	iii. When it is overpowered by pleasure or pain.</p>
<p>​	iv. When it puts on a mask and does or says something<br>
​	artificial or false.</p>
<p>​	v. When it allows its action and impulse to be without a<br>
​	purpose, to be random and disconnected: even the<br>
​	smallest things ought to be directed toward a goal. But<br>
​	the goal of rational beings is to follow the rule and law<br>
​	of the most ancient of communities and states.</p>
<p>17. Human life.</p>
<p>​	Duration: <em>momentary</em>. Nature: <em>changeable</em>. Perception:<br>
<em>dim</em>. Condition of Body: <em>decaying</em>. Soul: <em>spinning around</em>.<br>
Fortune: <em>unpredictable</em>. Lasting Fame: <em>uncertain</em>. Sum Up:<br>
<em>The body and its parts are a river, the soul a dream and</em><br>
<em>mist, life is warfare and a journey far from home, lasting</em><br>
<em>reputation is oblivion.</em></p>
<p>​	Then what can guide us?</p>
<p>​	Only philosophy.</p>
<p>​	Which means making sure that the power within stays safe<br>
and free from assault, superior to pleasure and pain, doing<br>
nothing randomly or dishonestly and with imposture, not<br>
dependent on anyone else’s doing something or not doing it.<br>
And making sure that it accepts what happens and what it is<br>
dealt as coming from the same place it came from. And<br>
above all, that it accepts death in a cheerful spirit, as nothing<br>
but the dissolution of the elements from which each living<br>
thing is composed. If it doesn’t hurt the individual elements<br>
to change continually into one another, why are people afraid<br>
of all of them changing and separating? It’s a natural thing.<br>
And nothing natural is evil.</p>
https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/marcus-aurelius-meditations-book-1/Tue, 14 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/marcus-aurelius-meditations-book-1/<p><em>A New Translation, with an Introduction, by Gregory Hays. THE MODERN LIBRARY<br>
NEW YORK.</em></p>
<h2 id="book-1">Book 1</h2>
<p>DEBTS AND LESSONS</p>
<p><strong>1. MY GRANDFATHER VERUS</strong></p>
<p>Character and self-control.</p>
<p><strong>2. MY FATHER (FROM MY OWN MEMORIES AND HIS REPUTATION)</strong></p>
<p>Integrity and manliness.</p>
<p><strong>3. MY MOTHER</strong></p>
<p>Her reverence for the divine, her generosity, her inability not<br>
only to do wrong but even to conceive of doing it. And the<br>
simple way she lived—not in the least like the rich.</p>
<p><strong>4. MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER</strong></p>
<p>To avoid the public schools, to hire good private teachers,<br>
and to accept the resulting costs as money well-spent.</p>
<p><strong>5. MY FIRST TEACHER</strong></p>
<p>Not to support this side or that in chariot-racing, this fighter<br>
or that in the games. To put up with discomfort and not make<br>
demands. To do my own work, mind my own business, and<br>
have no time for slanderers.</p>
<p><strong>6. DIOGNETUS</strong></p>
<p>Not to waste time on nonsense. Not to be taken in by<br>
conjurors and hoodoo artists with their talk about<br>
incantations and exorcism and all the rest of it. Not to be<br>
obsessed with quail-fighting or other crazes like that. To hear<br>
unwelcome truths. To practice philosophy, and to study with<br>
Baccheius, and then with Tandasis and Marcianus. To write<br>
dialogues as a student. To choose the Greek lifestyle—the<br>
camp-bed and the cloak.</p>
<p><strong>7. RUSTICUS</strong></p>
<p>The recognition that I needed to train and discipline my<br>
character.</p>
<p>​	Not to be sidetracked by my interest in rhetoric. Not to<br>
write treatises on abstract questions, or deliver moralizing<br>
little sermons, or compose imaginary descriptions of The<br>
Simple Life or The Man Who Lives Only for Others. To steer<br>
clear of oratory, poetry and belles lettres.</p>
<p>​	Not to dress up just to stroll around the house, or things<br>
like that. To write straightforward letters (like the one he<br>
sent my mother from Sinuessa). And to behave in a<br>
conciliatory way when people who have angered or annoyed<br>
us want to make up.</p>
<p>​	To read attentively—not to be satisfied with “just getting<br>
the gist of it.” And not to fall for every smooth talker.</p>
<p>​	And for introducing me to Epictetus’s lectures—and<br>
loaning me his own copy.</p>
<p><strong>8. APOLLONIUS</strong></p>
<p>Independence and unvarying reliability, and to pay attention<br>
to nothing, no matter how fleetingly, except the logos. And to<br>
be the same in all circumstances—intense pain, the loss of a<br>
child, chronic illness. And to see clearly, from his example,<br>
that a man can show both strength and flexibility.</p>
<p>​	His patience in teaching. And to have seen someone who<br>
clearly viewed his expertise and ability as a teacher as the<br>
humblest of virtues.</p>
<p>​	And to have learned how to accept favors from friends<br>
without losing your self-respect or appearing ungrateful.</p>
<p><strong>9. SEXTUS</strong></p>
<p>Kindness.</p>
<p>​	An example of fatherly authority in the home. What it<br>
means to live as nature requires.</p>
<p>​	Gravity without airs.</p>
<p>​	To show intuitive sympathy for friends, tolerance to<br>
amateurs and sloppy thinkers. His ability to get along with<br>
everyone: sharing his company was the highest of<br>
compliments, and the opportunity an honor for those around<br>
him.</p>
<p>​	To investigate and analyze, with understanding and logic,<br>
the principles we ought to live by.</p>
<p>​	Not to display anger or other emotions. To be free of<br>
passion and yet full of love.</p>
<p>​	To praise without bombast; to display expertise without<br>
pretension.</p>
<p><strong>10. THE LITERARY CRITIC ALEXANDER</strong></p>
<p>Not to be constantly correcting people, and in particular not<br>
to jump on them whenever they make an error of usage or a<br>
grammatical mistake or mispronounce something, but just<br>
answer their question or add another example, or debate the<br>
issue itself (not their phrasing), or make some other<br>
contribution to the discussion—and insert the right<br>
expression, unobtrusively.</p>
<p><strong>11. FRONTO</strong></p>
<p>To recognize the malice, cunning, and hypocrisy that power<br>
produces, and the peculiar ruthlessness often shown by<br>
people from “good families.”</p>
<p><strong>12. ALEXANDER THE PLATONIST</strong></p>
<p>Not to be constantly telling people (or writing them) that I’m<br>
too busy, unless I really am. Similarly, not to be always<br>
ducking my responsibilities to the people around me because<br>
of “pressing business.”</p>
<p><strong>13. CATULUS</strong></p>
<p>Not to shrug off a friend’s resentment—even unjustified<br>
resentment—but try to put things right.</p>
<p>​	To show your teachers ungrudging respect (the Domitius<br>
and Athenodotus story), and your children unfeigned love.</p>
<p><strong>14. [MY BROTHER] SEVERUS</strong></p>
<p>To love my family, truth and justice. It was through him that I<br>
encountered Thrasea, Helvidius, Cato, Dion and Brutus, and<br>
conceived of a society of equal laws, governed by equality<br>
of status and of speech, and of rulers who respect the liberty<br>
of their subjects above all else.</p>
<p>​	And from him as well, to be steady and consistent in<br>
valuing philosophy.</p>
<p>​	And to help others and be eager to share, not to be a<br>
pessimist, and never to doubt your friends’ affection for you.<br>
And that when people incurred his disapproval, they always<br>
knew it. And that his friends never had to speculate about his<br>
attitude to anything: it was always clear.</p>
<p><strong>15. MAXIMUS</strong></p>
<p>Self-control and resistance to distractions.</p>
<p>Optimism in adversity—especially illness.</p>
<p>A personality in balance: dignity and grace together.</p>
<p>Doing your job without whining.</p>
<p>Other people’s certainty that what he said was what he<br>
thought, and what he did was done without malice.</p>
<p>Never taken aback or apprehensive. Neither rash nor<br>
hesitant—or bewildered, or at a loss. Not obsequious<br>
—but not aggressive or paranoid either.</p>
<p>Generosity, charity, honesty.</p>
<p>The sense he gave of staying on the path rather than<br>
being kept on it.</p>
<p>That no one could ever have felt patronized by him—or<br>
in a position to patronize him.</p>
<p>A sense of humor.</p>
<p><strong>16. MY ADOPTED FATHER</strong></p>
<p>Compassion. Unwavering adherence to decisions, once he’d<br>
reached them. Indifference to superficial honors. Hard work.<br>
Persistence.</p>
<p>​	Listening to anyone who could contribute to the public<br>
good.</p>
<p>​	His dogged determination to treat people as they deserved.</p>
<p>​	A sense of when to push and when to back off.</p>
<p>​	Putting a stop to the pursuit of boys.</p>
<p>​	His altruism. Not expecting his friends to keep him<br>
entertained at dinner or to travel with him (unless they<br>
wanted to). And anyone who had to stay behind to take care<br>
of something always found him the same when he returned.</p>
<p>​	His searching questions at meetings. A kind of singlemindedness,<br>
almost, never content with first impressions, or<br>
breaking off the discussion prematurely.</p>
<p>​	His constancy to friends—never getting fed up with them,<br>
or playing favorites.</p>
<p>​	Self-reliance, always. And cheerfulness.</p>
<p>​	And his advance planning (well in advance) and his<br>
discreet attention to even minor things.</p>
<p>​	His restrictions on acclamations—and all attempts to<br>
flatter him.</p>
<p>​	His constant devotion to the empire’s needs. His<br>
stewardship of the treasury. His willingness to take<br>
responsibility—and blame—for both.</p>
<p>​	His attitude to the gods: no superstitiousness. And his<br>
attitude to men: no demagoguery, no currying favor, no<br>
pandering. Always sober, always steady, and never vulgar or<br>
a prey to fads.</p>
<p>​	The way he handled the material comforts that fortune had<br>
supplied him in such abundance—without arrogance and<br>
without apology. If they were there, he took advantage of<br>
them. If not, he didn’t miss them.</p>
<p>​	No one ever called him glib, or shameless, or pedantic.<br>
They saw him for what he was: a man tested by life,<br>
accomplished, unswayed by flattery, qualified to govern both<br>
himself and them.</p>
<p>​	His respect for people who practiced philosophy—at<br>
least, those who were sincere about it. But without<br>
denigrating the others—or listening to them.</p>
<p>​	His ability to feel at ease with people—and put them at<br>
their ease, without being pushy.</p>
<p>​	His willingness to take adequate care of himself. Not a<br>
hypochondriac or obsessed with his appearance, but not<br>
ignoring things either. With the result that he hardly ever<br>
needed medical attention, or drugs or any sort of salve or<br>
ointment.</p>
<p>​	This, in particular: his willingness to yield the floor to<br>
experts—in oratory, law, psychology, whatever—and to<br>
support them energetically, so that each of them could fulfill<br>
his potential.</p>
<p>​	That he respected tradition without needing to constantly<br>
congratulate himself for Safeguarding Our Traditional<br>
Values.</p>
<p>​	Not prone to go off on tangents, or pulled in all directions,<br>
but sticking with the same old places and the same old things.</p>
<p>​	The way he could have one of his migraines and then go<br>
right back to what he was doing—fresh and at the top of his<br>
game.</p>
<p>​	That he had so few secrets—only state secrets, in fact, and<br>
not all that many of those.</p>
<p>​	The way he kept public actions within reasonable bounds<br>
—games, building projects, distributions of money and so on<br>
—because he looked to what needed doing and not the credit<br>
to be gained from doing it.</p>
<p>​	No bathing at strange hours, no self-indulgent building<br>
projects, no concern for food, or the cut and color of his<br>
clothes, or having attractive slaves. (The robe from his farm<br>
at Lorium, most of the things at Lanuvium, the way he<br>
accepted the customs agent’s apology at Tusculum, etc.)</p>
<p>​	He never exhibited rudeness, lost control of himself, or<br>
turned violent. No one ever saw him sweat. Everything was<br>
to be approached logically and with due consideration, in a<br>
calm and orderly fashion but decisively, and with no loose<br>
ends.</p>
<p>​	You could have said of him (as they say of Socrates) that<br>
he knew how to enjoy and abstain from things that most<br>
people find it hard to abstain from and all too easy to enjoy.<br>
Strength, perseverance, self-control in both areas: the mark<br>
of a soul in readiness—indomitable.</p>
<p>​	(Maximus’s illness.)</p>
<p><strong>17. THE GODS</strong></p>
<p>That I had good grandparents, a good mother and father, a<br>
good sister, good teachers, good servants, relatives, friends<br>
—almost without exception. And that I never lost control of<br>
myself with any of them, although I had it in me to do that,<br>
and I might have, easily. But thanks to the gods, I was never<br>
put in that position, and so escaped the test.</p>
<p>​	That I wasn’t raised by my grandfather’s girlfriend for<br>
longer than I was. That I didn’t lose my virginity too early,<br>
and didn’t enter adulthood until it was time—put it off, even.</p>
<p>​	That I had someone—as a ruler and as a father—who<br>
could keep me from being arrogant and make me realize that<br>
even at court you can live without a troop of bodyguards, and<br>
gorgeous clothes, lamps, sculpture—the whole charade. That<br>
you can behave almost like an ordinary person without<br>
seeming slovenly or careless as a ruler or when carrying out<br>
official obligations.</p>
<p>​	That I had the kind of brother I did. One whose character<br>
challenged me to improve my own. One whose love and<br>
affection enriched my life.<br>
That my children weren’t born stupid or physically<br>
deformed.</p>
<p>​	That I wasn’t more talented in rhetoric or poetry, or other<br>
areas. If I’d felt that I was making better progress I might<br>
never have given them up.</p>
<p>​	That I conferred on the people who brought me up the<br>
honors they seemed to want early on, instead of putting them<br>
off (since they were still young) with the hope that I’d do it<br>
later.</p>
<p>​	That I knew Apollonius, and Rusticus, and Maximus.</p>
<p>​	That I was shown clearly and often what it would be like<br>
to live as nature requires. The gods did all they could—<br>
through their gifts, their help, their inspiration—to ensure that<br>
I could live as nature demands. And if I’ve failed, it’s no<br>
one’s fault but mine. Because I didn’t pay attention to what<br>
they told me—to what they taught me, practically, step by<br>
step.</p>
<p>​	That my body has held out, especially considering the life<br>
I’ve led.</p>
<p>​	That I never laid a finger on Benedicta or on Theodotus.<br>
And that even later, when I was overcome by passion, I<br>
recovered from it.</p>
<p>​	That even though I was often upset with Rusticus I never<br>
did anything I would have regretted later.</p>
<p>​	That even though she died young, at least my mother spent<br>
her last years with me.</p>
<p>​	That whenever I felt like helping someone who was short<br>
of money, or otherwise in need, I never had to be told that I<br>
had no resources to do it with. And that I was never put in<br>
that position myself—of having to take something from<br>
someone else.</p>
<p>​	That I have the wife I do: obedient, loving, humble.</p>
<p>​	That my children had competent teachers.</p>
<p>​	Remedies granted through dreams—when I was coughing<br>
blood, for instance, and having fits of dizziness. And the one<br>
at Caieta.</p>
<p>​	That when I became interested in philosophy I didn’t fall<br>
into the hands of charlatans, and didn’t get bogged down in<br>
writing treatises, or become absorbed by logic-chopping, or<br>
preoccupied with physics.<br>
All things for which “we need the help of fortune and the<br>
gods.”</p>
https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/marc-aurel-selbstbetrachtungen-reclam-horbuch/Sat, 04 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/marc-aurel-selbstbetrachtungen-reclam-horbuch/<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLzcstoktZbxLCEL8L9SEDjfxgnc-NFFL_" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p>Die Selbstbetrachtungen von Marc Aurel sind als <em>kostenloses</em> Reclam Hörbuch auf YouTube <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzcstoktZbxLCEL8L9SEDjfxgnc-NFFL_">verfügbar</a>
. Gelesen von Winfried Frey.</p>
https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/senecas-unvergangliche-lebensweisheit/Thu, 02 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://lstd.to/@alliswellinthegreatmess/posts/senecas-unvergangliche-lebensweisheit/<p>Warum sind wir so geizig mit unserem Geld, gehen aber verschwenderisch mit unserer Lebenszeit um? In seinem Traktat „Das Leben ist kurz“ plädiert Seneca für einen verantwortungsvollen Umgang mit der Ressource Zeit.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.br.de/radio/bayern2/sendungen/radiotexte/seneca-leben-zeit-100.html">Lesung mit Reinhard Glemnitz </a>
</p>